1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to the field of detachable connection techniques for coaxial cables and, more particularly, to a coaxial plug-in connector arrangement.
2. Description of Related Art
In the past, specific plug-in connector systems have been developed for detachably connecting coaxial cables which make it possible to plug together and detach the plug-in connection rapidly without any screwing operation and at the same time ensure safe and permanent contacts is provided. Such plug-in connector systems, which are based on the principles explained in the document mentioned at the outset, are known on the market under the type designation QMA (Quick Lock SMA).
A known embodiment of such a QMA plug-in connector system, as is produced and offered for sale by the Applicant, is reproduced in FIGS. 1-4. The system comprises two mutually fitting plug-in connectors 10 (male; FIGS. 1, 2) and 20 (female; FIGS. 3, 4), which can be plugged one inside the other so as to automatically latch with one another and so as to produce and maintain sufficient axial contact pressure and can be detached again later by actuating an axially displaceable actuating sleeve (15 in FIGS. 1, 2).
The male plug-in connector 10, which is illustrated in longitudinal section in FIG. 1 and in the perspective side view in FIG. 2, comprises a cylindrical housing 11, which is coaxial with respect to a plug axis 17 and acts as an outer conductor, having a coaxial through-hole 11′ having a stepped diameter, in which an inner conductor contact 12 is arranged concentrically such that it is insulated by means of an insulating piece 13. In the front part of the plug-in connector 10, a tensioning sleeve 14, which is in contact with the housing 11, is inserted fixedly into the through-hole 11′, in which tensioning sleeve a collar of hook-shaped latching fingers 19, which spring out radially, are formed by a large number of axial slots 18. In the region of the tensioning sleeve 14, an axially displaceable actuating sleeve 15 surrounds the housing 11 on the outside. At the front end of the actuating sleeve 15, a conically tapering unlatching ring 29 is integrally formed on the inner edge, and this unlatching ring engages in the collar of the latching fingers 19 and bends it radially outwards if the actuating sleeve 15 is displaced towards the rear in the axial direction. A clamping sleeve 16 is provided at the rear end of the plug-in connector 10, and this clamping sleeve can be used to fix the coaxial cable to the plug-in connector 10.
The associated female plug-in connector 20, which is likewise shown in section and in a perspective side view in FIGS. 3 and 4, comprises a cylindrical housing 21, which is coaxial with respect to the plug axis 28 and acts as an outer conductor, having a concentric through-hole 21′ and an inner conductor contact 22, which is held concentrically in the through-hole 21′ by means of an insulating piece 24. The inner conductor contact 22 has, at the front end, a contact tube 23 with slots, and the inner conductor contact 12 of the male plug-in connector 10 enters this contact tube 23 when the plug-in connectors 10, 20 are plugged together. The outer conductor contact is produced by a contact sleeve 25, which surrounds the insulating piece 24 and with which the plug-in connector 20 enters the tensioning sleeve 14 of the plug-in connector 10 during the plugging-in operation and rests on the base of the tensioning sleeve 14. A clamping sleeve 26 for fixing the coaxial cable is likewise provided at the rear end of the plug-in connector 20.
The resilient latching fingers 19 of the tensioning sleeve 14 in the process slide with their front, hook-shaped ends over a circumferential bead 27, which is formed on the outside of the contact sleeve 25 and increases slowly and then falls away comparatively steeply in terms of diameter. In this way, the latching fingers 19 latch in behind the bead 27 and exert a force acting in the plug-in direction on the contact sleeve 25, as is described in EP-B1-1 222 717. The latching of the tensioning sleeve 14 and the contact sleeve 25 can be cancelled again by means of the actuating sleeve 15.
The described plug system has proven to be successful in practice, but is not suitable for all application cases since the connection of the inner conductor contacts 12, 22 and housing parts imparting the outer conductor contact is not completely protected from undesirable influences from the outside, in particular water or moisture. Such suitable sealing appears to be problematic since restrictive conditions are provided in the contact region of the system by the tensioning sleeve 14, which springs out radially, and the axially displaceable actuating sleeve 15.